The G20 is the international forum bringing together the 20 largest and fastest-growing economies. Its members account for more than 80% of the world's GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.
The European Union is a full member of the G20, alongside three of its Member States: France, Germany, and Italy. Spain and the Netherlands are invited as guests to the G20 meetings. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, represent the European Union at the G20.
The European Union is one of the largest economies in the world and it is the world’s largest single market area, representing roughly 15% of world gross domestic product (2021). The European Union accounts for around 6% of the world’s population, surpassed only by China and India when it comes to the number of people it represents at the G20 Summit table.
New Delhi Summit, 9-10 September 2023
This year’s G20 Summit, hosted by the Indian G20 presidency, took place on 9 and 10 September 2023 in New Delhi. It brought together Heads of State and Government of G20 members and invited countries and representatives of some of the main international and regional organisations. Under the theme “One Earth – One Family – One Future” the participants discussed, among other topics
- Russia’s war against Ukraine
- Strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth
- Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Green development pact for a sustainable future
- Multilateral institutions for the 21st century
- Technological transformation and digital public infrastructure
- International taxation
- Gender equality and empowering all women and girls
- Financial sector issues
- Creating a more inclusive world
India plans to hold a final virtual Leaders’ meeting before the end of November.
At this year’s Summit, the African Union was welcomed as a permanent member of the G20. The EU has been a strong advocate of including the African Union at the G20 as a full member since the outset of G20 meetings. This is clearly a victory for the G20 summit and the African continent.
Enhancing critical infrastructure across the globe
Two years after the launch of the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) initiative, President von der Leyen emphasised at the G20 summit in New Delhi the EU’s key contribution to two of the PGII’s flagship projects.
The India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor will link the three regions through a state-of-the art connectivity infrastructure. It will help to bring the economic relationship between these regions to a new level and provide improved access to goods, energy and data to citizens and businesses.
The aim of this corridor is to:
- integrate railway lines and port connections from India to Europe, leading to smoother and faster transit time for goods
- develop energy infrastructure to enable the production and transport of green hydrogen
- strengthen telecommunication and data transfers thanks to a new undersea cable connection
The EU is also joining forces with the US to promote the Trans-African Corridor project. It will connect the port of Lobito in Angola with the Katanga region in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the copper belt in Zambia. This will help foster investment in local value chains to transform the extracted raw materials, give products from these regions access to world markets and improve mobility opportunities for citizens.
The EU is a key actor in the PGII through its Global Gateway initiative, which will activate €300 billion of investments in critical connectivity projects between 2021-2027. Half of the investments are destined for Africa.
Future G20 presidencies
Brazil will succeed India in the G20 Presidency as of 1 December 2023, followed by South Africa in 2025.
Brazil’s G20 Summit is scheduled for 18-19 November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro. The reported priorities of the Brazil Presidency are:
- sociaI inclusion and the fight against hunger
- energy transition and sustainable development in its three aspects (social, economic and environmental)
- reform of global governance institutions
These priorities are reflected in Brazil’s G2O Presidency motto: "Building a fair world and a sustainable planet.”